I read posts about the microphone on the 8700g picking up a lot of background noise, but I find it very difficult to hear when there is background noise (e.g., driving on the highway or in a relatively noisy restaurant). It is significantly more difficult to hear than my old 7290 and 6230. My friend used my phone while we were driving and he made the same comment to me -- unsolicited.

In addition, it seems that the sound isn't muffed consistently. I think when I talk to certain other cell phones it's muffled, but when I listen to the voice mail announcement asking me to enter my password, it is clear. I don't think this an an issue with other people's cell phones because I didn't have this problem with my old blackberries.